Creatures of habit

Okay, let me explain how it works in the Holdraker household. Miss Kitty, the elder all-black cat is allowed to sleep at the foot of our bed. We really did not want this to happen, but because Zu Zu, the Cavalier King Charles was allowed to sleep next to our beg in her doggie bed, it began a chain reaction.

Zu Zu would want to get up sometime around 3 a.m. to go out and sleep in the doggie bed in the office adjoining our bedroom. Sometimes, during really cold nights the stupid dog would want to curl up next to the heat run in the nearby bathroom.

Since neither Wife Patti, or myself wanted to get jousted out of bed by an impatient dog scratching on the bedroom door, we decided to just leave the door open at night.

This gave Miss Kitty the go-ahead to move, to a corner of our bedroom in the middle of the night and simply curl up. No harm, no problem, we figured we would simply let the cat find her own spot away from us to sleep. After several weeks, the cat became emboldened. We finally found her sleeping between us every night and physically/strongly urged the cat to the bottom of the bed in a comprise.

We flatly refused to allow Simon, the Siamese cat in the bedroom. That cat would never take NO for an answer and would play with our feet all night long. After several stern charges, Simon learned that the bedroom was an unwelcome spot for him at night.

Simon’s role is the one that actually yells out “Oh, No” at all hours of darkness. No kidding the cat can actually be heard saying “Oh, No”. No one believed us until daughter-in-law Christy finally heard the wail on several days while working in the office.

Simon is also the morning 5 a.m. greeter in the bathroom. One must rub the cat’s back for several minutes while sitting on the throne.

Baby Cat, the runt Siamese is the ghost cat nobody ever sees. In fact, it is a rare occurrence for us to even capture a sneak peak of the elusive creature.

Once the morning begins moving, Zu Zu must be let out for her morning pee. The breakfast of canned dog food is required. The animal would rather starve than touch dry food. Believe me we have tried starvation and every known brand in an effort to change the stupid dog’s tastes.

Miss Kitty takes up her perch on the back of my office chair. Zu Zu usually occupies any open office chair until the seats become filled with human butts. She begrudgingly will then retreat to her office bed, next to my chair. Simon pokes his head in occasionally and again, Baby Cat vanishes after eating to wherever ghost cats go.

The last creature to move in the Holdraker household morning routine is Wife Patti. By then, the cat litter has been cleaned and the family critters are all settled in for the day.

Oh, one more habit. Somebody has to play keep-way and tag with the dog about mid-morning.

These rituals repeat every night, every morning, just like clockwork. Life is so simple in the lives of the Holdraker critters and at this age, I kind of like it that way.